The Apprentice School Team Press Releases

Apprentice's Cecil Lee Defeats DI Opponent for 100th Victory

01/09/2009 -HAMPTON, VA. --- What a way to become a centurion on the wrestling mat. --

Apprentice School senior Cecil Lee entered the final bout in the Builders dual with Wagner College on Friday needing a win to not only give the Builders a team victory, but to join a rare group with 100 career wins.

The senior from Portsmouth dominated Connor Hart for an 8-0 major decision to give the Apprentice School a 24-20 victory over Wagner College in the consolation round of the 29th annual Virginia Duals at the Hampton Coliseum.

Apprentice School (4-4) will now wrestle again on Saturday at 4 pm against the loser of Brockport-Anderson College in the consolation semifinals. That win over Wagner marked the fourth straight year the Builders defeated a NCAA Division I opponent in the Virginia Duals.

Lee's victory tied the school record for wins in a career with his 100th. He tied former heavyweight Darrick Walker (1996-2000) for that prestigious mark. Walker ended his career with a 100-22 record.

The match started off slowly for the Builders giving up a forfeit at 125 pounds and a decision loss at 133 to fall behind 9-0. Freshman Will Sexton started the comeback with a 13-0 major decision at 141 pounds over Tyler Hammer to bring the Builders back to 9-4. Junior Matt Perry answered that major decision with one of his own defeating Ryan Cornell 16-4 at 149 pounds to cut the deficit to 9-8.

The Seahawks responded with a pair of major decisions at 157 and 165 pounds to bring the lead back to nine points at 17-8. Freshman Charles Mills recorded a win in 1:57 over Ryan Malloy at 174 pounds to bring the Builders to within three points at 17-14. Wagner's Peter Morano recorded a 9-3 decision at 184 pounds putting the Seahawks up 20-14. Sophomore Daniel Hare recorded the biggest pin of his season defeating Mark Wagner in 1:57 to force a 20-all tie heading into Lee's match.

After the first minute of the match, Lee began to assert himself and earned the 8-0 major decision and the 24-20 Apprentice School victory.

The Builders started the event facing the third-seeded Roger Williams Hawks from Rhode Island. The Hawks reeled off four wins by pin in a five-match span to defeat the Builders 40-6. Apprentice School earned victories at 133 pounds by Daniel Gular who scored a 9-5 decision over Andrew Jackson and by heavyweight Cecil Lee who took a 6-0 decision over Ben Kissane for a 40-6 final score.

PEMBROKE, N.C. - The Apprentice School wrestling team made its annual trek to Pembroke, N.C. on Saturday to compete in the 2007 Pembroke Classic and had a few wrestlers fare well in the 30-team event.
Senior Eric Lybarger was one round from wrestling for fifth place as he went 4-2 at 1....

BALTIMORE, MD. -- The Apprentice School wrestling team won the 2008 National Collegiate Wrestling Association Mid-Atlantic Conference title on Saturday scoring 200.5 points en route to the team title at the University of Maryland Baltimore County.
Six wrestlers won their weight classes....

MORRISVILLE, NY - The Apprentice School wrestling team opened their 2008-09 season with a pair of dual match victories at the Morrisville State College Duals on Saturday.
In their first match the Builders faced the hosts Morrisville State Mustangs and came out with a 23-22 victory. Th....

YORK, PA. - In a standout field with for nationally-ranked NCAA Division III teams and a pair of NCAA Division I squads, the Apprentice School wrestling team finished tied for fifth out of 10 teams in the York Spartan Invitational on Saturday in York, Pa. They finished behind the national....

LEXINGTON, Va. – Junior Kyle Spruill topped four Apprentice School wrestlers in the top three by winning the 149-pound bracket at the VMI Rat Open held Saturday at Cocke Hall on the Virginia Military Institute campus.
Spruill went 3-0 to win his bracket, while sophomore Ty Ford was 1-1 to....

The Apprentice School wrestling team will see action this weekend (Jan. 9-10) in the 29th annual Virginia Duals at the Hampton Coliseum.
On Friday the Builders will face Roger Williams University (R.I.) at 11 am in the first round of the American College Division. Roger Williams is th....

HAMPTON, VA. --- What a way to become a centurion on the wrestling mat. --
Apprentice School senior Cecil Lee entered the final bout in the Builders dual with Wagner College on Friday needing a win to not only give the Builders a team victory, but to join a rare group with 100 career wi....

NEWPORT NEWS, VA. - The Apprentice School wrestling team competed on the home mats for the first time this season and took second place out of 14 teams in the 29th annual Apprentice School Invitational on Saturday.
The Builders had a pair of champions in junior Matt Perry (Chesapeake, ....

SCRANTON, PA. - The Apprentice School participated on Saturday in a quad-match at the University of Scranton and went 1-2 in the event. They defeated the host Royals 45-3, while falling to Oswego State 22-14 and 18th-ranked NCAA Division III The College of New Jersey 39-7.
Senior Ceci....

LEXINGTON, VA. -- Sophomore Daniel Hare's pin with 46 seconds left in the 184-pound match gave the Apprentice School a 22-21 victory over Washington & Lee University in a dual match on Wednesday night in Lexington.
In their other match on Wednesday night, the Builders defeated National....

BUENA VISTA, VA. -- The Apprentice School wrestling team scored 177 points on Saturday with five conference champions to win the National Collegiate Wrestling Association Mid-Atlantic Conference title at Southern Virginia University.
The win marked the eighth straight conference title ....

LYNCHBURG, VA. – More honors were announced on Friday for the Apprentice School and Southern Virginia wrestling teams after this years 2009 National Collegiate Wrestling Championships. Two Apprentice School and one Southern Virginia wrestlers were named to the Virginia Sports Information ....

The Newport News Apprentice School is the most unique wrestling experience in the country. Why? The small trade school is owned by Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding and has been fielding athletics teams since the days it was founded.
One of the winningest programs in the school’s history h....

SCRANTON, PA. - The Apprentice School wrestling team opened its 2009-10 season on Saturday by winning four matches and knocking off American International College 22-19 for the championship of the Electric City Duals at the University of Scranton.
The first two duals on the day were ag....

YORK, PA. - The Apprentice School wrestling team competed in probably its toughest tournament thus far and finished eighth in the New Standard Spartan Invitational hosted by York College. Four teams that are ranked in the current NCAA Division III Top 15 and two perennial nationally-ranke....

BALTIMORE, MD. - The Apprentice School wrestling team competed on Saturday at the UMBC Retriever Duals hosted by the University of Maryland Baltimore County and went 4-0 on the day to claim the championship.
They opened the event facing Renssalear Polytechnic Institute from Troy, N.Y. ....

NEWPORT NEWS, VA. -- For the first time in three years, the Apprentice School wrestling team captured the team title at the 30th annual Apprentice School Invitational on Saturday.
The Builders amassed 146.5 points to outdistance two-time champion University of Central Florida with 131....

DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. -- The Apprentice School wrestling team is competing in the 2012 National Collegiate Wrestling Association National Championships in Daytona Beach, Florida this weekend and currently sit in 11th place out of 79 teams.
Senior Marcus Chevres became the second four-time....